Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area EnglishContáctenosCasero

Policies

 

Appropriate Community Behavior & Monitoring

This is a service by and for people who care about children and the Bay Area. We hope you enjoy meeting other like-minded individuals, posting your thoughts and opinions in your own blog, and joining in the conversations in our many discussion groups and forums. In so doing, you agree to keep this a safe, clean, and appropriate space. Further, you agree to:

  • Not post any content which others may find obscene, indecent or otherwise inappropriate
  • Not use language that doesn't respect people's differing opinions and beliefs
  • Not post hate speech, or content that defames or libels others
  • Not send threatening, intimidating or abusive messages or posts
  • Not post materials that infringe on anyon'es copyrights or trademarks
  • Notify us immediately if you see content that violates these terms

In all cases, err on the side of caution or your rights to use the service may be terminated without discussion.

In discussing match relationships, you agree to use first names only. You may not post children's names, or any contact information including addresses, email, instant messenger IDs, or phone numbers at any time, regardless of the forum. You may not provide links to websites containing such information.

Our "Community Admin" monitors the site on a regular basis, however we cannot be in all places at al times. As such, we don't make any promises that you won't come across language or content that violates our policies. So we rely on members of the community to help us monitor the community and the behavior of our members. Contact Community Admin either directly through the community tools, or send an email to abuse@bbbsba.org. We will take immediate steps to remove offending content, and to permanently ban the member who posted it.
 
BBBSBA reserves the right to monitor content posted here, and to modify or remove any messages or postings that it deems, in its sole discretion, to be abusive, defamatory, in violation of the copyright, trademark right, or other intellectual property right of any third party, or otherwise inappropriate for the community. BBBSBA also reserves the right to edit or modify any submissions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, BBBSBA is not obligated to take any such actions, and will not be responsible or liable for content posted by any subscriber in any forum, message board, or other area within the community.

Before accessing the Community features, you agree to read the detailed Terms and Conditions of Use following this section.

 

Terms & Conditions of Use

Date of Last Revision: July 18, 2007.

I. Acceptance of Terms
The Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area website (the “Website”), located at WWW.BBBSBA.ORG, is owned and operated by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area (“we,” “us,” “our” or “BBBSBA”). The Website provides a community networking service that allows friends and supporters of BBBSBA to create unique personal profiles online in order to foster communication and organization amongst themselves (referred to hereinafter as the “Service”). By using the Service, you are bound by the following Terms and Conditions of Use, as well as any other guidelines, rules and additional terms referenced herein, and all such guidelines, rules and terms are hereby incorporated herein by this reference (collectively, “TOU”). These TOU set out the legally binding terms with respect to your use and BBBSBA’s provision of the Service. You are bound by these TOU whether you are a “Visitor” (which means that you simply browse the Website) or you are a “Member” (which means that you have registered with WWW.BBBSBA.ORG). The term “User” refers to a Visitor or a Member. You are only authorized to use the Service (regardless of whether your access or use is intended) if you agree to abide by all applicable laws and to these TOU. Read these TOU carefully. If you wish to become a Member, communicate with other Members and make use of the Service, you must read these TOU and indicate your acceptance during the registration process. If you object to any term or condition of these TOU or any subsequent modifications thereto or become dissatisfied with the Service in any way, your only recourse is to immediately discontinue your use of the Service.

BBBSBA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MONITOR THIS WEBSITE, THE SERVICE AND ANY AND ALL MATERIAL THAT IS UPLOADED, POSTED, STORED, TRANSMITTED, DISTRIBUTED OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE OR SERVICE AT ITS SOLE DISCRETION, AT ANY TIME AND WITHOUT NOTICE.
READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY, AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, REMEDIES AND OBLIGATIONS. THESE INCLUDE VARIOUS LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS, AND A DISPUTE RESOLUTION CLAUSE THAT GOVERNS HOW DISPUTES WILL BE RESOLVED.

II. Modifications
BBBSBA reserves the right, at BBBSBA’s discretion, to change, modify or otherwise alter these TOU or the Service at any time without prior notice. Such modifications shall become effective immediately upon the posting of the new terms or upon implementation of the changes to the Service. Review these TOU on a regular basis to keep yourself apprised of any changes. Your continued use of the Service after any modifications indicates your acceptance of these TOU and the Service, as modified. Unless expressly stated otherwise by BBBSBA, any new features, new services, enhancements or modifications to the Service implemented after your initial access to the Service shall be subject to these TOU. You can find the most recent version of these TOU at WWW.BBBSBA.ORG.

III. Suspension or Discontinuation of the Service
BBBSBA reserves the right at any time to suspend or discontinue the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice to you. BBBSBA shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any suspension or discontinuation of the Service.

IV. Member Registration Process and Obligations
If you wish to register and become a member of the BBBSBA community, you must read these TOU and indicate your acceptance at the end of this document before proceeding with the registration process.
You must register as a Member prior to creating or editing certain Content (as defined below) on the Service. With BBBSBA’s authorization, you can set up an account (“BBBSBA Account”) by designating a username and password and providing some additional required information (“Registration Data”). You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for all activities that occur under your BBBSBA Account. Use of your BBBSBA Account is strictly limited to your own personal use. Immediately notify BBBSBA of any unauthorized use of your BBBSBA Account or any other breach of security.
You represent and warrant that you will (i) provide true, accurate, current and complete Registration Data and (ii) maintain and promptly update your Registration Data to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. BBBSBA reserves the right to refuse your registration of or cancel your BBBSBA Account in its sole discretion at any time for any reason.
Regardless of what information you choose to include in your profile, certain information about every Member will be included in that Member's public profile. A Member's public profile is an abbreviated version of the Member's regular profile, containing the information listed below, which will be available to any User of the Website, as well as to the general public through, for instance, search engines like Yahoo! or Google. Each individual Member's public profile includes the following information about the Member:

  • Name (first, or first and last, depending on what the Member chooses to supply)
  • Photograph, if supplied
  • Location
  • Various information relating to the Member’s status with BBBSBA
  • General free-form information provided at the Member’s discretion
  • The URL of the Member's profile

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) severely restricts what information can be collected from children under the age of thirteen (13). Accordingly, children under the age of 13 in the United States are prohibited from registering for an account with the Service, posting or editing any Content (as defined below) on the Service or providing any of their personal information to BBBSBA or to any User of the Service. Subject to the limitations set forth in the prior sentence and by local law, only Users who (a) are recognized as “Big Brothers” and “Big Sisters” or are otherwise authorized by BBBSBA, and (b) are eighteen (18) years of age or older, or sixteen (16) years of age or older and have obtained signed parental approval which has been communicated to and accepted by BBBSBA for registering with and using the Service, qualify to register with and use the Service (“Qualify”). If you do not Qualify, do not register with or use the Service. This Website is intended solely for Users who Qualify for registering with or using the Service. Any registration with, use of or access to the Website by anyone who does not Qualify is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation of these Terms of Use. Membership in the BBBSBA community is void where prohibited by applicable law, and the right to access the Service is revoked in such jurisdictions.

V. Use of Service
BBBSBA may establish general practices and limits concerning use of the Service, including without limitation the maximum number of days that personal messages, message board postings, text, files, images, photos or other uploaded materials (“Content”) will be retained by the Service. BBBSBA has no responsibility or liability for the deletion of or failure to store any messages or other Content on the Service. BBBSBA reserves the right to log off, delete or deactivate BBBSBA Accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time. BBBSBA reserves the right to modify these general practices and limitations from time to time without your consent.
By using the Service, you represent and warrant that (a) you have the right, authority and capacity to enter into these TOU and to abide by all of the terms and conditions set forth herein; (b) you Qualify for use of the Service, as described in Section IV; (c) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (d) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; and (e) your use of the Service does not violate any applicable law or regulation. Your profile may be deleted and your Membership may be terminated without warning if BBBSBA believes that you fail to comply with any of these requirements.
The Service is intended for use by people within the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. Recognizing the global nature of the Internet, you must comply with all local rules regarding online conduct and acceptable Content. Specifically, you must comply with all applicable laws regarding the transmission of technical data exported from the United States or the country in which you reside.

VI. Content
All Content uploaded, posted, stored, transmitted, distributed or otherwise made available on the Service is the sole responsibility of the User from whom such Content originated (“Content Provider”). You are entirely responsible for any and all Content that you upload, post, store, transmit, distribute or otherwise make available on the Service. BBBSBA does not control and is not responsible for Content made available through the Service, and by using the Service, you may be exposed to Content that is offensive, indecent, inaccurate, misleading or otherwise objectionable. You must bear all risks associated with your use of any Content on the Service. You may not rely on the accuracy of said Content. Under no circumstances will BBBSBA be liable in any way for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of your use of any Content posted or otherwise made available via the Service. BBBSBA does not pre-screen or approve Content created by Users of the Service. BBBSBA reserves the right, but has no obligation, to modify, refuse to post, delete or move any Content on the Service for violating the letter or spirit of these TOU or for any other reason, at its sole discretion. BBBSBA reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor any Content on the Service, and may do so from time to time at its sole discretion. If you become aware of misuse of the Website or Service by any person, contact BBBSBA or click on the "Report Inappropriate Content" link at the bottom of any WWW.BBBSBA.ORG page.

VII. Third Party Content, Sites and Services
The Service may contain links to third party resources which are completely independent of BBBSBA, including websites, directories, servers, networks, systems, information and databases, applications, software, programs, products or services. BBBSBA makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information contained in any such resource. Your use of any third party resource is at your own risk. BBBSBA has no control over such resources, is not responsible for the availability of such resources, and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any material on or available through such resources or for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any material on or available through such resources.

Your interactions with organizations and/or individuals found on or through the Service, including payment and delivery of goods or services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties or representations associated with such dealings, are solely between you and such organizations and/or individuals. BBBSBA shall not be responsible or liable for any loss or damage of any sort incurred as the result of any such dealings.

VIII. User Disputes
If there is a dispute between Users of the Service, or between a User and any third party, BBBSBA reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor or intervene in such a dispute. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more other Users of the Service, you hereby release BBBSBA, its licensors, employees, sponsors, affiliates, successors, assigns, directors, service providers and suppliers from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind or nature, known or unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way related to such dispute. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542 to the extent applicable, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor.”

IX. Copyright Infringement
BBBSBA has adopted the following policy toward copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (posted at http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf). In short, BBBSBA reserves the right to block access to or remove material that it believes in good faith to be copyrighted material that has been illegally copied and distributed by any of BBBSBA’s affiliates or Users. Furthermore, BBBSBA will remove and discontinue service to individuals who repeatedly post infringing material. The address of BBBSBA’s Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement (“Designated Agent”) is provided at the end of this Section IX.

A. Procedure for Reporting Copyright Infringements
If you believe that any material residing on or accessible through the Service infringes a copyright, send a notice of copyright infringement containing the following information to the Designated Agent listed below (“Proper Bona Fide Infringement Notification”):
1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that has been allegedly infringed;
2. Identification of works or materials being infringed;
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing including information regarding the location of the infringing materials that the copyright owner seeks to have removed, with sufficient detail so that BBBSBA is able to find and verify its existence;
4. Contact information about the notifier including address, telephone number and, if available, email address;
5. A statement that the notifier has a good faith belief that the material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
6. A statement made under penalty of perjury that the information provided is accurate and the notifying party is authorized to make the complaint on behalf of the copyright owner.

B. Upon Receipt of a Bona Fide Infringement Notification

Once Proper Bona Fide Infringement Notification is received by the Designated Agent, BBBSBA shall
1. remove or disable access to the infringing material and
2. notify the User who provided the material at issue (“Content Provider”) that it has removed or disabled access to the material.

C. Procedure to Supply a Counter-Notice to the Designated Agent
If the Content Provider believes that the material that was removed or to which access was disabled is either not infringing, or the Content Provider believes that it has the right to post and use such material from the copyright owner, the copyright owner’s agent, or pursuant to the law, the Content Provider must send a counter-notice containing the following information to the Designated Agent listed below:
1. A physical or electronic signature of the Content Provider;
2. Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access to has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled;
3. A statement that the Content Provider has a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or a misidentification of the material; and
4. The Content Provider’s name, address, telephone number and, if available, email address and a statement that such person or entity consents to the jurisdiction of the Federal Court for the judicial district in which the Content Provider’s address is located, or if the Content provider’s address is located outside the United States, for any judicial district in which BBBSBA is located, and that such person or entity will accept service of process from the person who provided notification of the alleged infringement.

D. Removal
If a counter-notice is received by the Designated Agent, BBBSBA may send a copy of the counter-notice to the original complaining party informing that person that it may replace the removed material or cease disabling it in ten (10) business days. Unless the copyright owner files an action seeking a court order against the Content Provider, the removed material may be replaced or access to it restored in ten (10) to fourteen (14) business days or more after receipt of the counter-notice, at BBBSBA’s discretion. Should the need arise, contact BBBSBA’s Designated Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement via email at:

abuse@bbbsba.org

or via traditional mail at:

BBBSBA Copyright Agent
731 Market Street
San Francisco CA 94103

X. Privacy and Information Disclosure
BBBSBA has established a Privacy Policy to explain to Users how information is collected and used within the Service, which is located at WWW.BBBSBA.ORG and incorporated into these TOU by reference. Your use of the Service signifies acknowledgement of and agreement to BBBSBA’s Privacy Policy, as the same may be amended from time to time.

XI. Prohibited Content and Activities
The following is a partial list of the kind of material that Users are prohibited from posting on or through the Service. BBBSBA, without obligation, reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in BBBSBA’s sole discretion, violates this provision, including without limitation removing the offending communication from the Website or Service and terminating the Membership of such violators. You may not upload, post, store, transmit, distribute or otherwise make available on the Service any Prohibited Content, which includes, but is not limited to, material that in the sole discretion of BBBSBA:
(i) is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, or promotes or encourages illegal activity or is harmful to minors in any way;
(ii) is pornographic or depicts sexual conduct;
(iii) harasses, degrades, intimidates or is hateful toward an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age or disability;
(iv) is or contains any audio or video, regardless of your right or license to do so with respect to the copyright of such material;
(v) solicits, describes or otherwise offers employment in any form;
(vi) impersonates any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a BBBSBA employee, or falsely states or otherwise misrepresents your affiliation with a person or entity (this provision does not apply to Content that constitutes lawful parody);
(vii) is false, deceptive, misleading, deceitful or constitutes a “bait and switch”;
(viii) infringes, misappropriates or violates any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, other intellectual property, publicity, proprietary or other rights of any person or entity, or material that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships;
(ix) constitutes or contains “affiliate marketing,” “link referral code,” “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes” or unsolicited commercial advertisement;
(x) constitutes or contains any form of advertising or solicitation if posted in areas of the Website which are not designated for such purposes or emailed to Users of the Service who have not indicated in writing that it is ok to contact them about other services, products or commercial interests;
(xi) advertises any illegal service or the sale of any items the sale of which is prohibited or restricted by any applicable law, including without limitation items the sale of which is prohibited or regulated by California law;
(xii) contains software viruses, worms, defects, Trojan horses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software, hardware or telecommunications equipment;
(xiii) by virtue of its volume, imposes, or may impose in BBBSBA’s sole discretion, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on BBBSBA’s IT infrastructure which supports the Service, or that otherwise negatively affects other Users’ ability to use the Service;
(xiv) employs misleading email addresses, forged headers or otherwise manipulated identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any material uploaded, posted, stored, transmitted, distributed or otherwise made available on the Service;
(xv) intentionally or unintentionally violates any applicable local, state, national or international law, including, but not limited to, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, any rules of any national or other securities exchange, including, without limitation, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, and any regulations having the force of law;
(xvi) provides material support or resources (or to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of material support or resources) to any organization(s) designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;
(xvii) contains links to third-party sites containing Prohibited Content as otherwise set forth in this Section XI or
(xviii) is or contains data about other Users in connection with the prohibited conduct set forth in paragraphs (i) through (xvii) above and paragraphs (a) through (o) below.
The following is a partial list of the kind of activity that Users are prohibited from engaging in on the Website or through use of the Service. BBBSBA, without obligation, reserves the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action against anyone who, in BBBSBA’s sole discretion, violates this provision, including without limitation, reporting you to law enforcement authorities. You may not encourage, instigate, support, engage in or participate in any Prohibited Activities, which include, but are not limited to:
(a) contacting anyone who has asked not to be contacted;
(b) “stalking” or otherwise harassing anyone;
(c) collecting personal data about other Users for commercial, unlawful or otherwise objectionable purposes;
(d) using automated means, including spiders, robots, crawlers, data mining tools or the like to download, retrieve or index any data from the Service, unless expressly permitted by BBBSBA;
(e) attempting to gain unauthorized access to BBBSBA’s computer systems or engage in any activity that disrupts, interferes with the performance of or impairs the functionality of, the Service;
(f) with exception to the Content made available on the Service, modifying, adapting, translating or reverse engineering any portion of the Service;
(g) removing any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained on the Website or within the Service;
(h) reformatting or framing any portion of the web pages that are part of the Website and/or Service;
(i) creating Member accounts by automated means or under false or fraudulent pretenses;
(j) creating or transmitting unwanted electronic communications to other Users of the Service or otherwise interfere with other Users’ enjoyment of the Service;
(k) submitting any third party material to the Service without such third party’s prior written consent;
(l) using the Service to violate the security of any computer network, crack passwords or security encryption codes, transfer or store illegal material including that which is deemed threatening or obscene;
(m) using the Website and/or Service, intentionally or unintentionally, to violate any applicable local, state, national or international law;
(n) using the Service or the Website in any manner that amounts to data warehousing (i.e., using any web space made available to you as storage for large files) or
(o) collecting or storing data about other Users in connection with the prohibited conduct set forth in paragraphs (i) through (xviii) and (a) through (n) above.

XII. BBBSBA License
The Service contains Content of WWW.BBBSBA.ORG (“BBBSBA Content”). BBBSBA Content is protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other laws, and BBBSBA owns and retains all title, rights and interest in the BBBSBA Content and the Service. BBBSBA hereby grants you a limited, revocable, nonsublicensable license (the “BBBSBA License”) to reproduce and display the BBBSBA Content (excluding any software code) solely for your personal use in connection with viewing the Website and using the Service. BBBSBA’s grant of the BBBSBA License to you does not create or imply any contractual or extracontractual liability on the part of BBBSBA or any of its licensors, employees, sponsors, Members or other Users.

XIII. License to User Content
By posting or otherwise making available Content on the Service, you hereby do grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, BBBSBA and the Users of the Service an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully sublicensable, fully paid up, worldwide license to use, copy, publicly perform, digitally perform, publicly display and distribute such Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such Content.
XIV. Violation of Local Law
BBBSBA shall not be responsible for your violation of local laws of the country or jurisdiction from where you are viewing this information should you view or otherwise use any of the Content made available on the Service.

XV. Term and Termination
These TOU will remain in full force and effect for so long as you use the Service, unless earlier terminated by BBBSBA. BBBSBA may terminate the Service, delete or deactivate your BBBSBA Account, block your IP address or otherwise terminate your access to or use of the Service at any time, in its sole discretion, and shall not be liable to you or any third party for any termination of your access to the Service or your BBBSBA Account. Further, you may not attempt to use the Service after any such deletion, deactivation or termination.

XVI. Survival
Sections VI (Content), VII (Third Party Content, Sites and Services), VIII (User Disputes), IX (Copyright Infringement), XIII (License to User Content), XV (Term and Termination), XVII (Ownership), XVIII (Disclaimer of Warranties), XIX (Limitations of Liability), XX (Indemnity), XXI (Trademark Information), XXII (General Information) and this Section XVI shall survive any termination of these TOU.

XVII. Ownership
Except for Content submitted by Users of the Service, the Service and all aspects thereof, including all copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property or proprietary rights therein, are owned by BBBSBA or its licensors. Any underlying technology or software used to provide the Service is proprietary to BBBSBA, and you may not modify, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, publicly display or in any way exploit the same. Except as expressly and unambiguously provided herein, BBBSBA and its licensors do not grant you any express or implied rights, and all rights in the Service not expressly granted by BBBSBA to you are retained by BBBSBA.

XVIII. Disclaimer of Warranties


YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.


THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. BBBSBA AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE SERVICE OR THE CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SERVICE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, BBBSBA AND ITS LICENSORS HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, STATUTORY OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT OF PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, BBBSBA AND ITS LICENSORS DO NOT WARRANT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT, INFORMATION, TEXT, GRAPHICS, LINKS OR OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE WITHIN THE SERVICE. BBBSBA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONDUCT OF ANY USER OF THE SERVICE. IN ADDITION, BBBSBA DOES NOT WARRANT OR COVENANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY TIME OR FROM ANY PARTICULAR LOCATION, WILL BE SECURE OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED OR THAT THE SERVICE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER POTENTIALLY HARMFUL COMPONENTS. ANY MATERIAL OR CONTENT DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICE IS ACCESSED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL. NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY ANY USER FROM BBBSBA OR THROUGH THE SERVICE SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY NOT EXPRESSLY STATED HEREIN. IN SOME JURISDICTIONS LIMITATIONS OF WARRANTIES ARE NOT PERMITTED, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

XIX. Limitations of Liability
BBBSBA shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where such failure results from any cause beyond BBBSBA’s reasonable control, including, without limitation, mechanical, electronic or communications failure or degradation. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, BBBSBA AND LICENSORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW, FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA, OR LOSS OF PROFITS RESULTING FROM ANY ASPECT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, WHETHER THE DAMAGES ARISE FROM USE OR MISUSE OF THE SERVICE, FROM INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE OR THE INTERRUPTION, SUSPENSION, MODIFICATION, ALTERATION OR TERMINATION OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF BBBSBA AND ITS LICENSORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SUCH LIMITATION SHALL ALSO APPLY WITH RESPECT TO DAMAGES INCURRED BY REASON OF OTHER SERVICES OR PRODUCTS RECEIVED THROUGH OR ADVERTISED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SERVICE OR ANY LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES FOUND WITHIN THE SERVICE, AS WELL AS BY REASON OF ANY INFORMATION OR ADVICE RECEIVED THROUGH THE SERVICE OR ANY LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES FOUND WITHIN THE SERVICE. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

XX. Indemnity
You indemnify and hold BBBSBA, its licensors, employees, sponsors, affiliates, successors, assigns, directors, officers, service providers and suppliers, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney fees and costs, made by any third party due to or arising out of (i) material you submit, post or make available through the Service, (ii) your use of the Service, (iii) a violation of these TOU by you, (iv) your breach of any of the representations and warranties herein or (v) the infringement or violation by you of any intellectual property or other right of any person or entity.

XXI. Trademark Information
The BBBSBA name, logo and other trade names, trade marks, service names, service marks, domain names and other distinctive brand features are trademarks of BBBSBA (the “BBBSBA Marks”). You may not display or use the BBBSBA Marks in any manner without BBBSBA’s prior permission.

XXII. General Information
These TOU and all terms, guidelines and rules referenced herein constitute the entire agreement between you and BBBSBA and govern your use of the Service, superseding any prior agreements between you and BBBSBA. These TOU include any notices regarding the Service or the Website. These TOU and the relationship between you and BBBSBA shall be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and BBBSBA shall submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of and venue in the state and federal courts located within the San Francisco Bay Area of California. The failure of BBBSBA to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these TOU shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of these TOU is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable or invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and that such provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these TOU shall otherwise remain in full force and effect. Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to your use of the Service or these TOU must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred. The section titles in these TOU are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. No agency, partnership, joint venture or employment is created as a result of these TOU and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind BBBSBA in any respect whatsoever. BBBSBA may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to these TOU by email, regular mail or postings on the Service. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this TOU, there shall be no third-party beneficiaries to these TOU.

XXIII. Violations
Report any violations of these TOU to abuse@WWW.BBBSBA.ORG.

XXIV. Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions of Use
I AGREE THAT I AM (a) RECOGNIZED AS A “BIG BROTHER” OR “BIG SISTER” OR AM OTHERWISE AUTHORIZED BY BBBSBA, AND (b) AM EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, OR SIXTEEN (16) YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AND HAVE OBTAINED SIGNED PARENTAL APPROVAL WHICH HAS BEEN COMMUNICATED TO AND ACCEPTED BY BBBSBA FOR REGISTERING WITH AND USING THE SERVICE, AND THAT I HAVE READ THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS OF USE AND AGREE TO ALL OF THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED ABOVE.

[top]

Privacy Policy - effective July 15, 2007

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area website (the “Website”), located at WWW.BBBSBA.ORG, is owned and operated by Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area (“BBBSBA”). The Website provides a community networking service that allows friends and supporters of BBBSBA to create unique personal profiles online in order to foster communication and organization amongst themselves (referred to hereinafter as the “Service”).


By using the Website, you agree to the Terms and Conditions of Use (“TOU”), and permit the collection and use of your personal information as outlined below in our Privacy Policy. All capitalized terms not separately defined in the Privacy Policy will be interpreted according to the definition in the TOU. You should visit this page periodically to review any changes to the Privacy Policy.


I. Information BBBSBA Collects
BBBSBA collects certain personal information from you when you register for a BBBSBA Account, including a username, your email address and your age. This information is used to authenticate Members and to send notifications to those Members relating to the Website’s Service. You can also choose to add additional personal information to your Member profile, including but not limited to: personal interests, gender, age, education, occupation, and one or more profile photos.
BBBSBA may collect information about your use of the Website that you do not explicitly submit. For example, we may log your browser-type related information, IP address, requested URL, referring URL, and timestamp. If you create an account on the Website certain information relating to your activity on the Website, such as the date and time at which you register and text of the comments and contributions you make on the Website and the time that you make them, may be displayed in your profile and may be viewed by other Members, whether or not they are logged into an account.


II. Use of Your Information
In order to create or edit certain content on the Website, you must register as a Member as described in the TOU. Personal information such as your username and an optional profile photo may be visible to Members in conjunction with messages or other postings that you contribute to the Website. Members may also view your profile, and any personally identifiable information you have included in your profile, by clicking on your username when you post on the Website. You are required to provide an email address when you register as a Member and this email address will also be visible to Members who view your profile. Accordingly, if you are concerned with the privacy of your email address, we recommend that you do not register with the Website.


BBBSBA may send emails to the email address you provide in your profile or send personal messages to your BBBSBA Account in order to provide you with notifications related to your use of the Website or updates or news regarding BBBSBA.


BBBSBA may use the information that web servers routinely maintain, such as access logs containing browser type related information, IP address, requested URL, referring URL and timestamp data to diagnose and resolve technical problems, administer the Website and otherwise provide the highest possible level of service to you. In addition, BBBSBA may use this information to perform statistical analyses of Member behavior and characteristics in order to measure interest in and use of the various areas of the Website. In very rare instances, BBBSBA may use this information to correlate usernames and IP addresses of edits in investigating abuse in the use of the Website.
Regardless of whether you are registered as a Member or logged into your account, anytime you visit the Website you can be identified by your IP address. This is a series of numbers which identifies the Internet address from which you are connecting to the Website. Depending on your connection, this number may be traceable only to a large Internet service provider, or more specifically to your school, place of business or home.


III. Transfer of Information
BBBSBA will not make personal information, such as your email address, available to third parties, unless you agree to release this information or unless one of the situations described in this paragraph occurs. BBBSBA may preserve or disclose the content you post on the Website, as well as other information about you and your use of the Website, such as your email address, IP address and timestamp data, if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with a subpoena, a court order or another legal process. Further, BBBSBA may preserve or disclose such information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities or suspected fraud; to protect the rights, property or personal safety of BBBSBA, its Members or the general public or to enforce or apply the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy and/or the Website’s TOU (which can be found at http://www.bbbsba.org/about/policies.php), as the same may be amended from time to time.
BBBSBA will notify you when information about you may be provided to third parties in ways other than explained above, and you will have the option to prevent such information sharing.


IV. Links to Other Websites
The Website may contain links to third party websites to which BBBSBA has no affiliation. BBBSBA does not share your personal information with those websites and is not responsible for their privacy practices.


V. Use of Cookies
Like most websites, the Website requires cookies to function properly. Cookies are small text files that reside on a Member’s computer and identify you as a unique Member. BBBSBA uses cookies to refine the Website and simplify the Member experience. For example, the use of cookies allows Members to enter our site without explicitly typing in their username and password every time.
If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows you to deny or accept the cookie feature; however, you should note that cookies may be necessary to provide you certain features (e.g., customized delivery of information) available on the Website.


VI. Controlling Your Personal Information
You should be aware that when you voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information (e.g., your real name or email address) through messages, forums, postings, or in other areas of the Website, that information, along with any substantive information disclosed in your communication, can be collected and used by third parties and may result in your receipt of unsolicited messages from other posters or third parties. Such activities are beyond the control of BBBSBA. We strongly encourage you not to use your real name as your username on the Website. Do not post any personal information on the Website that you expect to keep private.


As a Member, you can view and modify the personal information you have included in your profile by logging in and accessing your account. Upon your request, BBBSBA will use commercially reasonable efforts to delete your BBBSBA Account and the personal information in your profile; however, it may be impossible to remove your BBBSBA Account without some residual information being retained by BBBSBA. Members who wish to close their account should contact feedback@BBBSBA.ORG.


VII. Security
BBBSBA Accounts are password-protected. BBBSBA uses commercially reasonable security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of data.


If you have any questions about the security of the Website, please contact us at feedback@BBBSBA.ORG. Although BBBSBA aims to take sufficient measures to safeguard against unauthorized disclosures of information, BBBSBA cannot assure you that personally identifiable information that BBBSBA collects will never be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy.


VIII. Editing of Content
Members are able to add, modify and delete certain text and other content found on the Website. Some areas of the Website contain editing history functionality which records and stores every change made to a webpage. All such changes are viewable by both Members and unregistered users, regardless of whether the changes are additions, modifications or deletions of content and whether they are made by a Member or a representative of BBBSBA. Thus, content that has been added to a webpage within the Website may permanently be accessible for viewing by our Members who look at the editing history of that webpage, even if such content had been deleted after being posted on the Website. Only a the Website administrator can permanently delete information from the Website and there is no guarantee this will happen. Content that has been deleted can also be reinstated on the Website if a Member or BBBSBA representative chooses to revert to such content in the editing history.


IX. Messaging
The Website may offer personal messaging functionality, enabling its Members to quickly communicate with each other while logged on to their BBBSBA Accounts. Members may not be able to optout of personal messages initiated by other Members. Accordingly, if you are concerned about receiving possible unsolicited personal messages from BBBSBA or other Members, BBBSBA recommends that you do not register with the Website.


X. Mailing Lists
BBBSBA may on occasion send information to Members of the Website via email that BBBSBA thinks will be of interest to them. If you do not wish to receive such email communications from BBBSBA, you can opt-out by following the instructions on the Member’s account settings page. Nonwithstanding the foregoing, BBBSBA reserves the right to contact you for other purposes relating to your membership or use of the Website including, but not limited to, notifying you of updates to the TOU or Privacy Policy, or of changes, updates or additions to Website features.


XI. Use by Children
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) severely restricts what information can be collected from children under the age of 13. Accordingly, children under the age of 13 in the United States are prohibited from registering for a BBBSBA Account, posting or editing any content on the Website or providing any of their personal information to BBBSBA or to any Member, but are otherwise permitted to access and view the information provided on the Website with the permission and supervision of a parent or guardian. BBBSBA does not knowingly solicit information from any child under the age of 13. Should a child whom BBBSBA knows to be under 13 in the United States send personal information to BBBSBA via the Website, BBBSBA will use that information only to respond directly to that child (or a parent or guardian) to inform him or her that he or she cannot use the Service. BBBSBA also recommends that minors over the age of 13 ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the internet.


XII. Enforcement
BBBSBA regularly reviews its compliance with this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or concerns regarding BBBSBA’s treatment of personal information or this Privacy Policy or if you want to exercise any of the rights that you are granted under this Privacy Policy, you can contact:
feedback@BBBSBA.ORG. When BBBSBA receives formal written complaints, BBBSBA will contact the complaining Member regarding his or her concerns. BBBSBA will cooperate with the appropriate regulatory authorities, including local data protection authorities, to resolve any complaints regarding the transfer of personal data that cannot be resolved between BBBSBA and an individual.

XIII. Terms and Modifications to this Privacy Policy
By using BBBSBA, you signify your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with these terms, you should not use the Website. BBBSBA may modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If a material change is made to this Privacy Policy and/or the way BBBSBA uses its Members’ personally identifiable information, then BBBSBA will post a prominent notice of the nature of such change at the top of this Privacy Policy and also on the Website’s home page. You are responsible for reviewing this Privacy Policy periodically to ensure that you are aware of any changes to it. Your continued use of the Website indicates your assent to any changes to this Privacy Policy.

[top]